Pützchens Markt in Bonn

A fair with tradition

|September| Tradition and nostalgia meet at a modern fair with action-packed rides: more than one million visitors are drawn to Pützchens Markt in Bonn each year.

One of the oldest fairs in Germany is held every year on the second weekend in September in Bonn Beuel. Pützchens Markt (Fair of the Well) can trace its origins back to the 14th century: According to legend, after a long period of drought, the Abbess, Saint Adelaide, thrust her crosier into the earth and water began to bubble up from the soil. The new wells, or "Putz", gave the village its name of Pützchen (Little Well). The village subsequently became a place of pilgrimage. With its stalls, traders, jugglers and acrobats, this pilgrimage formed the early Pützchens Markt fair.

Today Pützchens Markt is much more than just a small fair. Visitors will not only find traditional carousels and nostalgic rides, but also a modern art fair and a total of 500 shops of all kinds. The event area, which covers some 80,000 square metres of fairground, draws more than one million visitors each year. The highlight always comes at the very end: the big fireworks display marks the fifth and final day of the fair.